Elaine McDonald, 71, who was once a star of Scottish Ballet, took Kensington
and Chelsea Council to the European Court of Human Right over its decision
to stop providing her with a night carer

A disabled former ballerina who has been locked in a six-year legal battle with her local council over night-time care has forced a “landmark” ruling which could make social workers consider the “dignity” of the elderly when assessing care provisions, age campaigners have said.

Elaine McDonald, 71, who was once a star of Scottish Ballet, took Kensington and Chelsea Council to court over its decision to stop providing her with a night carer to help her use a commode in 2008.

Despite losing her case at the European Court of Human Rights on a separate issue, the ruling was hailed as a victory because it is the first time the court has said a failure to consider a person’s dignity can be a breach of human rights.

The court’s decision could have a “significant” effect on decisions surrounding social care in Britain, the charity Age UK said, because it explicitly links dignity to Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which protects the right to "private and family life".

Ms McDonald, who received an OBE in 1983, suffered a stroke which left her with reduced mobility and needing to use a wheelchair outside.

She was provided with a carer in March 2007 to help her visit the bathroom at night, but in November 2008 the local authority told her she would instead be provided with incontinence pads.

Kensington and Chelsea Council withdrew the carer in order to save £22,000 a year, a decision the ECHR supported because it found the council’s right to pursue the “economic well-being of the State” at a time of austerity outweighed the rights of Ms McDonald.

“Therefore, despite the very distressing situation Ms McDonald was facing, the Court held that from 4 November 2009 onwards the interference with her right to respect for private life had been both proportionate and justified as ‘necessary in a democratic society’ and rejected this part of her complaint as inadmissible,” the judgement said.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “While today’s ruling is very disappointing for Mrs McDonald as it does not provide her with the round the clock care she needs, legally it is a landmark ruling which potentially could have a significant effect on decisions around the provision of care in the UK.

“For the first time, the European Court has said that failure to consider a person’s dignity can be a breach of human rights.

“The court also ruled that lack of action by a local authority or withdrawing care can be seen as a breach of human rights.

“In practice what this means is that if a local authority is considering cutting social care services it will have to take into account the impact on the dignity of the individuals who will be affected.

“We also welcome the fact that today’s court ruling confirms that if a local authority is considering cutting social care it must make a meaningful attempt to balance its need to make savings with the need to positively support the dignity and human rights of older and disabled people.

“Our thoughts go out to Mrs McDonald who because of local authority care cuts has been treated as if she is incontinent when she is not. We owe her a debt of gratitude for what she has done for older people by taking this case forward.”